November 28, 2024 • 50 mins
Today’s guest is Author Deidra Mwalimu, founder of Network of Women Now.
Deidra has been dedicated to the field of international studies, capacity development, and non-profit administration for more than twenty years. Ms. Mwalimu received a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MBA in Management from American InterContinental University, a Master's of Science in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University at Shreveport, and a Certification in Nonprofit Profit from Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.
Deidra has coordinated workshops for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and women who are pursuing start-up businesses, business consulting, grants, and program development. In addition to working with non-profit organizations in an administrative capacity, Deidra is a certified grant writer. She has worked with NGOs in Tanzania, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, and the USA. She continues to advocate for grassroots nonprofit organizations and NGOs that support social enterprises and community engagement.
To connect with Deidra follow her on social media @networkofwomennow
Books:
Empowered Hygiene Workbook: Menstral Equity Project
Available on Amazon.com
Coming Soon!!
My Soul’s Unrest: Three Generations of Failed Reproductive Healthcare of Women In Mississippi
"My Soul's Unrest" weaves a powerful narrative through the personal and historical struggles of women grappling with reproductive healthcare in Mississippi. This compelling memoir explores the systemic issues that have plagued African American women's healthcare in the southern United States, particularly focusing on the author's own experiences and those of her ancestors.
Growing up in Mississippi, the author witnessed firsthand the disparities and challenges in the healthcare system, especially concerning women's reproductive rights and services. Through the vivid stories of her mother and grandmother, she paints a poignant picture of the generational battles fought and the victories, both big and small, that shaped their lives and hers.
The book highlights the resilience and tenacity of women who stood against the tides of their times, fostering a deeper understanding of the complex tapestry of healthcare, gender, and race in Mississippi. It also serves as a call to action, intended to inspire and mobilize further advocacy and change within the community and beyond.
Deeply influenced by these experiences, the author's ongoing mission with the Network of Women NOW champions healthcare reform and support for women across generations. "My Soul's Unrest" is not just a recounting of personal and collective histories but a testament to the strength of these remarkable women.
Their journey is both a reflection of the past and a beacon for the future we can build together.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kickin-it-with-keke-life-love-all-that-other-sh-t--5060376/support.
Deidra has been dedicated to the field of international studies, capacity development, and non-profit administration for more than twenty years. Ms. Mwalimu received a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MBA in Management from American InterContinental University, a Master's of Science in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University at Shreveport, and a Certification in Nonprofit Profit from Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.
Deidra has coordinated workshops for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and women who are pursuing start-up businesses, business consulting, grants, and program development. In addition to working with non-profit organizations in an administrative capacity, Deidra is a certified grant writer. She has worked with NGOs in Tanzania, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, and the USA. She continues to advocate for grassroots nonprofit organizations and NGOs that support social enterprises and community engagement.
To connect with Deidra follow her on social media @networkofwomennow
Books:
Empowered Hygiene Workbook: Menstral Equity Project
Available on Amazon.com
Coming Soon!!
My Soul’s Unrest: Three Generations of Failed Reproductive Healthcare of Women In Mississippi
"My Soul's Unrest" weaves a powerful narrative through the personal and historical struggles of women grappling with reproductive healthcare in Mississippi. This compelling memoir explores the systemic issues that have plagued African American women's healthcare in the southern United States, particularly focusing on the author's own experiences and those of her ancestors.
Growing up in Mississippi, the author witnessed firsthand the disparities and challenges in the healthcare system, especially concerning women's reproductive rights and services. Through the vivid stories of her mother and grandmother, she paints a poignant picture of the generational battles fought and the victories, both big and small, that shaped their lives and hers.
The book highlights the resilience and tenacity of women who stood against the tides of their times, fostering a deeper understanding of the complex tapestry of healthcare, gender, and race in Mississippi. It also serves as a call to action, intended to inspire and mobilize further advocacy and change within the community and beyond.
Deeply influenced by these experiences, the author's ongoing mission with the Network of Women NOW champions healthcare reform and support for women across generations. "My Soul's Unrest" is not just a recounting of personal and collective histories but a testament to the strength of these remarkable women.
Their journey is both a reflection of the past and a beacon for the future we can build together.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kickin-it-with-keke-life-love-all-that-other-sh-t--5060376/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Kicking In with Kiki. Kicking Ki Ki, kickin
Ki Ki Ki for a little personality, switching up the
storyline on God, were making a story.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And hooks chase one day at a time.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Much problems to the side.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Enjoy yourself, free your mind, Chicken ki Ki.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hello, Hello, Hello, and welcome back to another episode of
Kicking It with Kiki. I am your host, Kiki Shanel,
Award winning author, lifestyle blogger, and certified life coach, newly
owner of nineteen lifestyle magazine. This season is all about
personal growth, as you but we're tapping into the life,
(01:02):
love and all that other shit because life be lifeing
and it's all about some other shit.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So I have a special guest that's here with me today,
and you guys know how I like to do. I
like to give my guests it the opportunity to introduce themselves.
So I'm gonna turn it over to her. Y'all give
her a warm welcome, Dedra, thank you for coming to
Kicking with me today.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Hey, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much.
My name is de Ddre Wallymu and I am the
CEO and founder of Network of Women.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Now absolutely, But thank you for being here. It's a
pleasure to finally meet you. I know we've talked and
email correspondence, but seeing the face and all of the things, that's.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Always a plus.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
But we're going to get right into the life part
of the segment.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Okay, how have you been. You know, it's been busy.
It's been a busy season. We're trying to kind of
wrap up twenty twenty four, which is like gone already.
You know, there were a lot of things that I
needed to focus on, a lot of projects that I
wanted to complete, and I'm looking forward to twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, all right, Well I like to hear that you're
staying busy and you're doing the things that you love.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
That's always a plus.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So when it comes to life, I always ask this
question for this season, if you had to give life
a definition, what would yours be?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
And why? M You know that is a very good question.
If life was a definition or a word, I would say,
life to me is about self preservation. Oh. I like that,
(02:44):
you know, because you know, on this journey as women,
let's just talk about women right now. You know, no
shade to anybody else, but just women period. We go
through these phases in our lives, from phases and our
rights of passage, and each one we go through it
(03:09):
is about learning different lessons. And in this season of
my life, when I look back at how those lessons
have played out to get me to where I am now,
you know I've learned a few things, like it's important
to be healthy mind, body, and spirit, not just just
(03:34):
you know, not just basically but mentally, and watch your
diet and you know, pay attention to the little things
in your body, like your health. That is important. But
it's also important to understand that time waits for no
one absolutely, So whatever you're going to do, you know,
(03:59):
you can talk yourself out of it, but procrastination just
takes so long sometimes for you to just get onto
what you need to get onto. And whether it's forgiveness,
whether it's for planning, whether it's for taking a trail
of or changing something about your life, trust me when
(04:22):
I tell you don't want to keep experiencing the same
negative stuff, even the positive stuff, because everything grows and
everything changes. It is better to change quicker. And when
you do that, I find you're much more healthier. You
(04:43):
have a lot more longevity. You think clearly, and you're
able to put things in place that you know you
dreamt about. So I think self preservation is about all
those things, because when I finally close my eyes, I mean,
I want my tombs to only say well done.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Absolutely, she left it out here, she died empty.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah, must must be because I have too many
things that I'm trying to do and accomplish for me
to not fulfill those dreams. So in order to do that,
I must be fully conscious in this mind, body, and spirit.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I love that her definition of life is self perseverance.
I love that because people are so self absorbed they
don't realize the things that are important that has passing
them by day today, and some people didn't make it
to today and we're still here.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
So and I don't mean that in a like a
narcissistic kind of way when I talk about the preservation.
You know, what I learned about life, I'm able to
pass that on to the next generation so they can
avoid some of the pitfalls that I've had to. Hey,
I'm giving you this in like three bullets. You know,
(06:08):
it's like you can take ten years off your life,
you know, right, you don't want to repeat some of
the things that I did because no one told me
about these things. Now, I understand that, you know, young
people need this younger generation need to experience certain things
for themselves, you know, but there are some things you
really don't want.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To experience exactly. So we want to talk. I want
to talk about life a little bit on that perspective.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
How important is it for the other, for the more
seasoned generation to just say hey, to the younger generation.
I know you might not want to hear what I
have to say, but this is something that will actually
help you along your way to be more mindful of
the things that are around you as for your life
and things like that, because it is necessary. And I
(06:55):
know that we live in a day and a time
where people don't like being told anything absolutely, But how
would you say that, you know the importance of making
sure that you're at least taking one, are grabbing one
and instilling those values, morals and life lessons and to
that person so they can not go through, you know,
(07:15):
the pitfalls.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
As you said, I mean, this is all about what
I do. What Network of Women is all about. It's
about part of network of women. Now We use this
word all the time, and it's actually a product that
we you know, hand this bb it's a sly word.
It means grandmotherhood. These are the things that we pass
(07:38):
down to our children, especially when I and when it
comes to our girls, like you know what's going to
happen when my period comes on? And you know what
happens when I have sex, or have a baby, or
go through menopause. Those are different stages of our lives
that we need to be able to talk to one
(08:00):
another about so we can understand what is really happening.
And I think we are out here alone, you know,
it's like, oh my god, nobody's going through this. But really,
those jewels of wisdom that we pass down to one another,
it really does help. Especially you know this, and when
we like we understand that girls are hitting puberty as
(08:22):
young as six. Now, wow, so what happens if they
don't have anyone in their family or anyone close to
them to share with them about Hey, what to expect
when you're expecting your period. These are the things that
you need to look out for. And you're not dying,
You're okay. This is a natural part of life. So
let's just put things in place so when it does happen,
(08:44):
you're ready. And that's essentially you know, how I interpret
the question is preparing our students are our children for
what's to come, even if they don't want to hear it.
Trust me, when I told you, my mother used to
tell me. So I'm like, but later in life, I
was like, nah, that little voice came back and she's
(09:05):
your mom said that this was gonna happen. So even
if they're not listening, I think they are listening.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I believe so too, because I have a fifteen year
old son and I have a twenty seven year old daughter,
and the things that I told her, we have conversations
about it now and we laugh and then we like say, oh,
he's totally different because he's a boy. He's seeing it,
you know, seeing life from a boy's perspective.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
But just certain things that.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
I taught her, she is now saying, hey, no, you're
gonna get this done the right way because he just
so oblivious to on the goal, trying to be on
the on the game, and he's starting to date and
stuff like that. So it's just funny to sit back
and just watch, like listen to her be me for
a minute, because I'm like, I told her the same words. Okay,
I did something right, That's right.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You think they're not listening, They are listening because eventually
it'll play out in their lives as well. And that's
that's where you know the experience come from. And that's
when you know your child, when you know that they
know that they're on the right track.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Right, absolutely, absolutely, So let's get into talking about the
Network of Women now, Like, what prompted you to start it?
I know you just talked a little bit about it,
but what actually got you say? You know what, I
need to do something to make sure that I am
helping women that look like me.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Mm hmm. Well, you know, it was a long time
in the making. I've had other versions of Network of
Women now, but the most current version is when I was,
you know, helping this other nonprofit organization travel around the
world delivering art supplies and we had gotten a lot
(10:50):
of supplies for Mister Hygiene Products and we delivered our
first project together because he has started the organization before
I came on board, and I just happened to call
him up and say, hey, what are you doing? He
was like, I got this organization. Let's work on it together.
And I said, okay, you know, you know, as long
(11:12):
as I can do some traveling, you know, I'm cool
with it. You know, when we went to Tanzania, we
had to give the feminine hygiene products out like behind
the scenes, and I went to him and I told him,
I said, you know, realistically, as a woman, I can't
abide by us, you know, pushing things behind the scenes
(11:34):
for women. And we talked about it and he was like, okay, cool.
So I said, you know, this is what's going to happen.
You know, I'm start a nonprofit. It's gonna network with
women and we're going to be focusing on women and
women issues. And he was like, okay, cool. And that's
essentially how I started. I incorporated in twenty twenty and
in December of this year, it will be our five
(11:57):
year anniversary.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Congratulation.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
So, what has been one of the challenges that you
faced since you started the organization.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
I think there has been several challenges. Number one is
people finding value in what I do. And the other one,
you know, the the heartbeat of a nonprofit is always,
you know, secure funding. So that is the other thing.
But one of the more major things this is this
(12:30):
is this is you know, I've been thinking about this too.
It's about us as women, and it is important that
we keep our word. Yeah, you know, I just don't
even know any other way to say it. So if
(12:51):
I'm having a meeting with you and I'm talking to
you about what I do, then you turn around and
take the conversation that we had and write a grant
and just completely leave me out. You like integrity?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Oh yes, that is.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
The major problem that I have been finding with some
of the organizations that I have been engaged with for
black women, and I have been just trying to figure out,
you know, what is.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
That all about?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Figuring out how better to work with one another. So
those three things have been major kind of hur rules here.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
That I have been finding. But yeah, I mean, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And that's so unfortunate because I love what you do.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
It is so necessary and thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Me being a woman who was not taught about certain
things for my mom, my oldest sister showed me a
lot of things because my mom taught it to her.
And so I'm like, what about the people are the
young girls who are growing up and they don't have
a woman in the household. They may have lost their
mother at a young age, or she may have passed
(14:22):
doing childbirth. Like what happens with those little girls who
grow up to become women. How did they learn to
navigate as a woman, you know, learning about different things
like that. So when my best friend told me about
the organization, I writ and watched the commercial and stuff
like that, and I was like, this is amazing. I
need to have her on the show because so many
people need to understand and know that we do have
(14:45):
organizations like yours that exist.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
No, And that is why I phrased what I did
for the last question is because ultimately the mission is
about the girls, not about ourselves.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Right right, absolutely, And that brings me to the next
question is why is empowering women so important to you
when it comes to like personal Hagien.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Mmm, you know that's a pretty loaded question because I'm
pulling on my own life experiences and you know, I
grew up in Mississippi and I didn't know that, you know,
I'm poor, you know, I mean, I had my parents,
(15:29):
my grandparents. I have come from a large family. I
had a whole church community, I had my aunts, and
uncles all around. I mean, I was just so innundated
with family. I mean I had everything that I needed.
So I was a normal kid. You know, I didn't
think anything was exceptional about my life. It's just, you know,
(15:50):
it was what it was. When I was twelve, I
started my period. Okay, normal, you know, you were the boys,
because the boys around the house. And you know, my
mom was like, I don't remember one guy came. We come,
this is the first time.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
What.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
So she was like, on the pill and I was like, yeah, okay, okay, cool.
So my sister and cousin and I went and got
on the pill. Well, you know, we went to get
on the pill. They got their little brown bags full
of pills.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
It was at the local clinic, and you know, when
it came to me, they were like, we found an issue,
so you need to come back with your mother. And
it just kind of like at that point it just
like warp speed into me having surgery and going through therapy,
and it was just this entire ordeal that I was
(16:43):
just mentally not prepared for. Not only myself, my mother
wasn't prepared for it either, right, So it ended up
having you know, to have you know, a surgery for
what the doctors claim. You know, it's like, oh, well
it be for her, I want to have children. But
(17:05):
I felt like there was a lot of experimentation that
went on with my therapy that you know, my mother
nor I could really understand because we didn't have popularity,
we didn't have the language, we didn't have the tools
to really prepare for what was coming, you know, in
(17:28):
the in the next couple of years. Because I was
like under treatment for like two years, and my mother
was financially responsible for getting me to the doctor because
I was living in Macomb, Mississippi, but I had to
(17:49):
go to Jackson for treatment GOTA and once I you know,
so my mother had to take off work, she had
to drive, you know, we were there all day sometimes,
so it was like it was just this major ordeal.
And after initially after the surgeries, you know, I was
going maybe twice a month, but then eventually it went
(18:09):
to once a month. But still that was a financial
hardship on her. And then you know, I couldn't talk
to her about it, but I was still in school.
I was in high school. So yeah, so just navigating
through that and the fact that that experience has been
a part of my journey to lead me to where
(18:30):
I am now, because you know I have I have
an autobiography that is coming out very soon where I
talked about how the women in my family had to
contend with their own journey. So what I do is
(18:55):
a direct reflection of what I've experienced for generations. Yes,
and it's a natural part to talk to young girls
about what is happening because, like I said before, I
didn't even have the vocabulary to be able to articulate
what was actually happening to me. Hm. Because of that.
(19:19):
In my undergraduate part of my undergraduate studies was women's studies.
When I traveled abroad for my summer summer broad Products projects,
I was always looking at how, you know, women were
impacted by different environments around the world. So I've always
(19:39):
included women's studies and situations that happened to women. It's
just that the reproductive part of it is essentially how
we define ourselves as women.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Absolutely, And I was about to mention that you have
a book coming out. How when can we expect the book?
I love the name My Soul's Unrest. I love that name.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Uh, I just got the I had a proof read to.
I just got the word back that it's good to
go today. I just got it back today that it's
really good to go. Okay, so I'll start, you know,
putting promo out promos. I think I want to do it,
you know, around my fifth anniversary. So it's just gonna
(20:34):
be this full circle moment. So it will be out
for sure next month.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
All right, I love it. I love it?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
So are you doing pre orders? With it be available
on all platforms? How can people support? Because I want
I want all my listeners to make sure that y'all
go and support and buy this book.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah, well it's gonna be on Amazon. We are doing
the book and hardcover and back, so be able to
get it on email. You can follow me to because
I'll give updates on my social media, which is Networkingwomen
dow dot dot org, which is my website, or and
(21:16):
all my social media is Networking Women now, Instagram, Pinterests, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram,
all that, so you know, I'll be highlighting it. And
I haven't done anything right now because I just wanted
to make sure that the product that I put out
is a good product. And so in the book, I
(21:37):
talk about, you know, my early beginnings and how that
event change the trajectory of my life, because well, I
don't want to say change the trajectory, because I don't
know if you remember, Ebony had put out these black
(21:57):
encyclopedias and my mother bought the and I used to
always read them and I was just I would put
pins and them and y'auld mark, I'm like, okay. I
would look at the maps. I'm like, I'm going here,
I'm going here, I'm going there, I'm going there, I'm
going there. And I have pins all over the world
and I've pretty much been able to travel to these places.
(22:20):
What I did know that what the message was that
I would be traveling and you know, so now this
is the message. So this is like my second book,
because I have a work book that helps girls to
you know, learn a vocabulary, learn about you know, self
(22:43):
preservation and boundaries and what to expect when they're expecting.
So when I put that book out, I don't think
that people understood the link that it had to me
in my mission. So that's why I followed up with
the autobiography to let people know that, you know, I'm
just not talking because you know, I don't have a
(23:04):
point of reference, and that point of reference is, you know,
my experience. So when I say, you know, my soul's unrest,
it's about not only was I medically sterilized, and that's
what the book is all about me being medically sterilized.
My mother was medically sterilized and her mother before her.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
So that's why three generations of failed reproductive healthcare and
women in Mississippi. So that is in the historical perspective,
because believe it or not, that's why I was saying,
I don't want girls to think that they're alone because
this had been happening for a very long time, especially
(23:47):
for color Yes, and there was an incident in Georgia
which was an entire lawsuit about two sisters, one was
twelve and the other was fourteen, where they were medically
sterilized the under the guys of family planning. They were
black girls, young black girls, and when they look at
the permission slip, the mother had signed her name with
(24:11):
an ex so their mother was not even literal enough
to understand what was happening to her to her daughter.
So you know, for sterilization had been happening for a
long time, but in the south southern part of the
United States, this was a big issue going back as
far as the fifties, and when this happened to me,
(24:33):
this was well into the you know, eighties and nineties, right,
you know, that is why Mike's story. I feel like
people need to understand it. And then when you look
at this whole political climate that's happening right now when
they repealed Roe versus Wade. You know, women's reproductive health
(24:56):
is very political.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Right, yep, very very political, and it's sad it is.
So I try not to talk about politics, but you
can't help but talk about that part because as a woman,
it's gonna affect all of us.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
God are change, We're gonna.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Change gears a little bit. And I want to get
into this work the work book too, because you talked
about a good but I want people to know that
they can get the workbook.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It's out there.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
But I wanna talk about love. How important do you
believe that self love is when it comes to personal hygiene.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Underneath what we do. I mean, really, it's about loving yourself,
having a healthy relationship not only with yourself, but also.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
To be able to.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Have a healthy relationship with your partner, because if things
are not working right with your body, you are not
able to be receptive to love. To lust is hire
two activities to drinking, to eating. You know, it's like,
you know, even bathing. Sometimes you can go into this
(26:08):
depression where you know, you don't know what's happening with
your body, but you don't want to get out of bed,
you don't want to do normal activities. So self love
is you know, about caring for yourself enough to know
that you're worthy of having a healthy lifestyle or having
(26:29):
a healthy body. You know, of being able to invite
love in because you know we talk about you know,
what you put out is what you receive. So if
you're putting out love because you love your body, you
love the way you look. You know, you look at
the mirror and say, I'm a little fly there.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
You know, it's like.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
When you walk into a room, you have all this
confidence and you you attract you know, the love to
you and you're able to go out and conquer the
world when you love yourself, you.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Know, absolutely, I feel like it's enough hate around that.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Don't give into that.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Like if you don't like something about yourself and you're
able to change it, change it. But God puts you
on here on this earth and made you the way
that you were supposed to.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Be for a reason.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know you love you're in Yes, absolutely, And I
feel like a lot of people are superficial when it
comes to love nowadays because social media has made it
so in your face and we don't know what happens
when the camera stopped rolling and it's scripted and all
(27:42):
the things like that. So speak to the listeners who
are so involved in the love stories that are being
portrayed on social media.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Yeah, we really need to be careful about the information
that we put out. And that's one of the things
that I try to be very responsible about. You know,
we have to be able to put out truth, you know,
to our young girls. And you know, I'm not saying
that ever since this incident happened with me, it's been
(28:15):
you know, you know, roses like I'm like that can
be father for the truth. But you know, when we're
in relationships, my mother told me this. She told me,
she said, once you leave my house and go out
in the world, there are going to be things that
(28:36):
you're going to do that only you and God will know,
I had no idea what my mother was talking about
until I started living. Yes, I started interacting with other
people until I was in relationships with men. And not
that they were bad relationships, it was a lot of
(28:58):
it was that I didn't understand and who I was. Yeah,
And so those truths are what I tell my nieces
and even my nephews today about you know, you being
in a relationship with someone who's damaged.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Right, and it's it's it's not impossible, but it can
be a very difficult role when you're trying to love
someone who doesn't love or respect themselves.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
And so social media when you're looking at you know,
because the kids, you know, this is the first generation
that are coming out that it's all digital yeap. So
they have access to a lot of things. But what
they don't understand about these phones is that I'm a
go into a story right now. But it's important that
(29:51):
they understand what's happening. So about six years ago, seven
years ago, Mark Zuckenberg of you know, CEO of Facebook,
he was trying to put out meta But what happened
was when they tried to use the business model to
have those the clickbait for your phone, like what you research.
(30:15):
It was just supposed to be for other businesses to
see and track how many times people click on your
you know, your product or your website. But when he
was trying to merge you know, the business format with
the with the digital AI kind of format, they started
communicating with each other and creating a language, which he
(30:39):
was like, you know in this article already was like, oh,
we shut it down because we didn't understand what was happening.
Then a few years later, under the radar, all of
a sudden, you know, it's supposed to be fixing now
it has now meta is out, So what it is
doing is and you noticed this, but you don't really know.
And this is what the kids do not know. If
(30:59):
you notice, if you talk about something, if you click
on something, all of a sudden, that becomes your over
and over again. So let's just say, you know, and
I'll just take I just use this as an example,
you know, the political situation. If you're gonna whatever political
party you affiliate yourself with, you know, if you click
on nothing but that that's all you get. You don't
(31:21):
get any diversity in the conversation. You don't get other platforms,
you don't get anything like these young kids. If you're
only looking at you know, fights all the time, that's
all you're gonna get, and you're gonna think, oh, this
is all that's out there on the internet, right, And
that's not true. So it's hard for our young kids
(31:41):
to distinguish what is fact and what is fiction, yep.
And if they're not getting it in a home or
there's a representation of what they're seeing in the home
and what they're seeing on the internet, it's hard to
kind of step out from that. And as a fifteen
year old girl that had experienced what I experienced, one
(32:04):
of the questions that I had to come to terms
with and my reality was what value am I to
a society that deems that I am damaged goods if
I can have children. So that is the one question
(32:24):
that I had to ponder throughout my treatments, throughout my
young adulthood, throughout my you know, middle age or whatever
up and ten now. So at a very young age,
I answered that question by saying, I'm gonna create the
life that I want to create. I'm gonna do something
positive with my life, and I'm gonna be happy to
(32:46):
get to that point. And I have been working on
that for a long time. So I have to represent
a model to the kids that you know, you can
create whatever lifestyle you want, but you gotta do it
with integrity. You must be happy while you're doing You
should be happy while you're doing it. You know, not
that it always.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Happens, Absolutely absolutely, And I always ask the question about
social media because each guest gives a different perspective, although
it's almost the same. You have to make sure that
we are feeding ourselves stuff that will keep us grounded,
keep us walking integrity, and not make us feel like
(33:26):
how we live and how we look and the things
that we value is not like outlandish or fore fetched
or whatever, because what.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Does that mean.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
It's like social media has really brainwashed a lot of
people thinking that it's okay to have a toxic relation,
Like like that's what love should be at.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Toxic relationships?
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Are you waking up and putting on a face full
of makeup? Is what most people deem as being beautiful?
Stuff like that, Like normal normalcy is not really that
normal anymore because of what we see on social media.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Well, reality has nothing to do with reality anymore, right, Yeah,
that's the one thing that I get from it. And
you know, and I can say, this is why, you know,
I'm between two worlds where I knew growing up. Yeah,
there were some things that I didn't know because I
was a kid. But I was able to be a kid.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
You know, I could play outside, I can climb trees,
I can play marble my brothers and ride bikes with them.
You know, I was able to do those things. But
now kids are you know, glued to social media and
the and and all these digital platforms. But what about
reading a book?
Speaker 3 (34:55):
Read in this house?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Absolutely, you better read how you apprehend something.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Absolutely, And if all this stuff crashed, a lot of
people are going to be lost, exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
So you know that leads a question. People don't think
that it could happen, but over it was any indication
about what is actually going on right now? You know,
when we shut down with COVID, people find out how
much they really didn't like each other. Oh yeah, in
the same house.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
A lot of people found out they didn't like themselves
because they were able to glamorize and leave the house
and put on that mask. And now you all stuck inside.
So you can't get dressed or where you could have,
but where you're going. But it's like a lot of
people realize that they didn't even like theirself. They didn't
know who they were because they just put on the
mask and went outside. It came out, they took it,
they took it off. But then it's time to go
(35:51):
to bed, and you just give your family what you
want them to see, and you'll become a whole another
person when you leave the house the next day.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
I mean, look at it. You know, the the schools
were raising your kids, were babysitting your kids for better
part of the day. Your work took up another part
of your day, so you had the small window that
you were interacting with your family, and you know, when
the lights go off, you know, hey it's done. Lived
for another day. But COVID, you know the wider implication
(36:21):
of oh yeah, you know, we couldn't. We didn't, we
couldn't travel or go out. But the entire world shut down. Yep,
if you have that much power to shut down the
entire world, what do you think they're gonna shut What
happens when they decided to shut you down? Especially as women, right,
(36:44):
especially as a woman of a black male. M what
if you know, there's a lot of what is but
I mean we've seen from evidence how historically you know, atmatically,
just by the push of a button, our world can
(37:04):
be really different.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
Really different, and not in a good way.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
All right, So we're gonna get last question, and is
we gonna get into this all this other shit and
we done talked about some of it within what we've
been talking about. What is one life lesson where you
were so bogged down into some shit that you learn
and that you instill into other people like nieces of
(37:34):
the women of color, yourself, What is one lesson that
you instill when you were so bogged down in all
your other shit that you take and try to help
somebody else from not being in that part.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You can have your pretty party, but you better come
up out a real quick. It's okay to cry, It's
okay to sit down and put your head and your
your head in your hands and regroup. But once you
come out, come out swinging.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
M Yeah. Because life happens.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
It does not stop for anybody, and you are not
exempt from anything.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Absolutely not. You know, there are many times when I
just broke down and just cried, I called my brother
like by dieces, I'm like okay. They're like wait wait wait, wait,
wait wait wait, what's going on? And they, you know,
when I finally you know, try to you know, make
sense of it. One of the other things is that
(38:37):
you know, we can't be emotionally, emotionally attached to a
lot of things that are happening to us, and we
when we're emotional, we can make some really bad decisions.
So being able to you know, cry about it, fuss
about it, you know, and let it be done. When
you come back, then you kind of calm down, you're
(39:00):
in your right state of mind, you can make a
better decision, because when you're emotional, it can go really
bad real quick. So you just try to talk to
yourself and keep yourself calm and realize that you know
this too. Shell pass you know, my mother and you're
so Ho's like when people minimize your life, you got
(39:22):
to maximize it. So most of the time when we're
in these when we're in these positions, it's because something
external has happened, and you know, we're reactionary, and so
you know, whatever somebody does to you, you tend to
kind of like go off or things don't work well
(39:44):
for you. And you know, just even with Network of Women.
Now you know, I was playing in this major event,
and you know, I put all the work into it
and did everything and I was supposed to do social media, marketing, girl,
did interviews, did all this so and nobody showed up.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
How disappointing is that. Yeah, so you know, I've had
my setbacks. Don't get me wrong, I've had my trials
and tribulations. But I knew I had to come back
out of it. But now look at me. I'm you know,
Networking Women is five years old. I had to move forward.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
I had.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I mean, learning the pivot doesn't take you out of position.
I think it positions you for your purpose. I really
do believe that because not everything is gonna be sunshine
and rainbows. People are not gonna always show up. Some
people are not gonna show up because it's you. But
you have to be okay with it and know that
your people will come. Just keep doing the work, keep
(40:44):
showing up, and keep walking in integrity with humility, and
not everybody has that. That plays a big part in
the things that we are supposed to do. And I
believe that because I'm one of those people that if
I cannot keep my word, I'm gonna try my best
to make it up some type of way. And if
I can't show up and I've given you my word
(41:05):
that I'm showing up, it got to be something that's
just like I cannot avoid not coming.
Speaker 4 (41:12):
Yeah, I mean, if it means that much, you know,
just say something. And I find that. You know, here
when we talk about me doing what I do. You know,
people are so interested in tailgating football and you know,
(41:33):
whatever the food is, the cuisine. You know, everybody wants
to do that. But when it talks when we talk
about our girls, you know, you only want to talk
about them when they're in trouble or you know, oh
she's pregnant or she dropped out of school. But there
were some signs long before then that you never even
(41:55):
wanted to discuss. Right, Our boys are the same way.
You know, there's no curriculum in the schools really that's
talking about you know, masculine hygiene. It's against them, right,
you know, to teach sex education.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
Wow, I did not know that.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
So if you're not talking to girls, and you know,
there are some schools that where like ebr Parish. The
nurses through our Lady of the Lake, they can go
in and talk to the kids about hygiene. But it's
not mandatory. It's kind of an elective. But there's some
(42:42):
school districts there's no one. There might be a teacher
that decides, hey, we need to talk to our girls,
but certainly with the curriculum and the workbook that I have,
they don't have that. And I have gone into the
schools in some schools with my work book and teach
the girls and talk to girls. But you know, this
(43:03):
this subject part of the problem. When we're talking about
issues when it comes to reproductive health, then you know,
the powers that be don't want you to talk about
the LGBQ plus community. They don't want to talk about transgender.
So I'm saying to them, it's like everybody needs a
(43:24):
toothbrush and toothpaste, yeah, the odor on you know, that's
personal hygiene is universal. You need a bar soap.
Speaker 6 (43:34):
Or clean underwear, right, you know you need to bathe
every day?
Speaker 4 (43:40):
Hey, you need and girls when they're on their period
is they need the resources to be able to change
every day because most girls only change their paths maybe
once a day. And that's only because they don't have
enough supplies, right.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Right, So let's talk about the handbook. I know you've
been talking about it. Tell the name where people can
purchase it from before we get on out of here.
Speaker 4 (44:04):
Let them know, Okay. So the name of the workbook
is Empowered Hygiene Workbook, and in this word book is
fifty two pages of interactive puzzles. There's coloring section, there's
a small journal in there, and we talk about, you know,
the importance of hand soap, hand sanitizers. We talk about
(44:29):
how to read the packages, especially for girls. This is
just for girls. How to read the packages on the
sanitary pad, packages like always and all those what the
numbers mean. We talk about all the products that are
out there on the market because those products can you know,
(44:49):
can range in price and affordability. So I'm finding that
just polling the girls, they lean towards one thing more
than another. But but you know, how do they have
access to it? And then we also have a vocabulary
list of words that if there's an issue, like girls
(45:10):
don't understand that if their periods fall outside of the
rangers of three to seven days per mom, there's a problem.
And so we talk to them about that, about those things,
so they would know if there's a problem, then they
consult their parents. Then their parents can take them to
(45:30):
a physician, and then they will have a working vocabulary
to be able to articulate what is actually going on.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
So that's basically what the book is all about. And
now we're beginning to find that this book, that the
book is being translated into different languages.
Speaker 5 (45:49):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
I love it, thank you.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
And it's also on Amazon.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
Yeah, sorry, yes, it is on Amazon. It is the
Empowered Hygiene Workbook created and written by me. It's through
Network with Women Now. So it is on it is
on Amazon. It is not it is not in any
of any other format because it's a workbook and it's
an interactive work because there's puzzles involved. So it is
(46:17):
a hard copy. It's fact but it's a hard copy.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Okay, yup. And guys, all of this information would be
in the show note, so just read the notes and
you can get all the information to purchase the workbook,
how to connect and follow on social media, find out
more details about the upcoming autobiography and the fifth year
of Network of Women Now. So I'm super excited about that.
(46:44):
Thank you for coming to kick it with me today.
It has been a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (46:49):
You know, thank you so much. I mean, I think
the whole vibe here. I mean I'm looking at you
geinst the artwork, which is really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
You know, got to painted that.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Oh is she okay?
Speaker 5 (47:00):
So you know what?
Speaker 4 (47:02):
You know, next year we're gonna we're trying to do
an art exhibit for girls, and we're empowering young girls
to be okay with the skin that they're in. We
want girls to you know, have this sense of femininity
(47:24):
and being a boss and you know, just being adventurous
and being able to create the life that they want
to live through art work, through you know, writing, through singing,
through whatever it is medium that you want to be.
If you're just brainiac, you're brainiac. But you know, everybody
(47:45):
needs to have their own identity, and I think that's
how we have healthy relationships with one another. I don't
want to be you, you don't want to be me,
but I can still see the beauty and everything that
you do.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Absolutely let me know about that. I would love says assist.
I would love to assist.
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Really.
Speaker 4 (48:02):
I certain there's more all coming we're just in the
planning stages right now, but it's gonna be at the
end of next year. That's why I said when I
do twenty twenty five, twenty five is gonna be a really,
really big year for Network of Women now because we're
we're we're focused on making sure that our message is
heard and that somebody said we're not taking any prisoners
(48:28):
because we're just gonna go and we're gonna we're gonna
do the damn thing as they say.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Hey, that's I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
But you guys have been listening to another episode of
Kicking In with Kiki. I am back with a new
episode every Thursday to make sure you tune in on
your favorite podcast streaming platform.
Speaker 5 (48:47):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Did you have any words of encouragement, any last thoughts,
or anything you would like to say to the listeners
before we get off today.
Speaker 4 (48:54):
Djer, I just want everyone to make sure they understand that,
you know, women, girls, we play a very pivotal part
in society and no girl should ever have to ask
the question how valuable am I in this society? Because
you consider me as damaged good and you know, also
(49:15):
consider that the dynamics of the family is really changing now.
And like my brother is a single parent of a
teenage daughter, and I had to work through you know,
this workbook with him to get him to understand, you know,
what he needs to expect with his daughter, what she's
going through. She having cramps, you know, does she always
(49:37):
you know need paths up, Like every time you go
to the store, you better pick her up song, But
she's gonna need them, so you know. I just want
to encourage everyone to uh, to really show their daughters
how special they really are.
Speaker 2 (49:51):
Absolutely absolutely yes. But that being said, until next time,
Purple hugs, thank you for tuning in, and thank.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
You chickened with keep
Speaker 4 (50:09):
The Am a cons
Welcome to Kicking In with Kiki. Kicking Ki Ki, kickin
Ki Ki Ki for a little personality, switching up the
storyline on God, were making a story.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And hooks chase one day at a time.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Much problems to the side.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Enjoy yourself, free your mind, Chicken ki Ki.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hello, Hello, Hello, and welcome back to another episode of
Kicking It with Kiki. I am your host, Kiki Shanel,
Award winning author, lifestyle blogger, and certified life coach, newly
owner of nineteen lifestyle magazine. This season is all about
personal growth, as you but we're tapping into the life,
(01:02):
love and all that other shit because life be lifeing
and it's all about some other shit.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So I have a special guest that's here with me today,
and you guys know how I like to do. I
like to give my guests it the opportunity to introduce themselves.
So I'm gonna turn it over to her. Y'all give
her a warm welcome, Dedra, thank you for coming to
Kicking with me today.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Hey, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much.
My name is de Ddre Wallymu and I am the
CEO and founder of Network of Women.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Now absolutely, But thank you for being here. It's a
pleasure to finally meet you. I know we've talked and
email correspondence, but seeing the face and all of the things, that's.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Always a plus.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
But we're going to get right into the life part
of the segment.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Okay, how have you been. You know, it's been busy.
It's been a busy season. We're trying to kind of
wrap up twenty twenty four, which is like gone already.
You know, there were a lot of things that I
needed to focus on, a lot of projects that I
wanted to complete, and I'm looking forward to twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, all right, Well I like to hear that you're
staying busy and you're doing the things that you love.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
That's always a plus.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So when it comes to life, I always ask this
question for this season, if you had to give life
a definition, what would yours be?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
And why? M You know that is a very good question.
If life was a definition or a word, I would say,
life to me is about self preservation. Oh. I like that,
(02:44):
you know, because you know, on this journey as women,
let's just talk about women right now. You know, no
shade to anybody else, but just women period. We go
through these phases in our lives, from phases and our
rights of passage, and each one we go through it
(03:09):
is about learning different lessons. And in this season of
my life, when I look back at how those lessons
have played out to get me to where I am now,
you know I've learned a few things, like it's important
to be healthy mind, body, and spirit, not just just
(03:34):
you know, not just basically but mentally, and watch your
diet and you know, pay attention to the little things
in your body, like your health. That is important. But
it's also important to understand that time waits for no
one absolutely, So whatever you're going to do, you know,
(03:59):
you can talk yourself out of it, but procrastination just
takes so long sometimes for you to just get onto
what you need to get onto. And whether it's forgiveness,
whether it's for planning, whether it's for taking a trail
of or changing something about your life, trust me when
(04:22):
I tell you don't want to keep experiencing the same
negative stuff, even the positive stuff, because everything grows and
everything changes. It is better to change quicker. And when
you do that, I find you're much more healthier. You
(04:43):
have a lot more longevity. You think clearly, and you're
able to put things in place that you know you
dreamt about. So I think self preservation is about all
those things, because when I finally close my eyes, I mean,
I want my tombs to only say well done.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Absolutely, she left it out here, she died empty.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah, must must be because I have too many
things that I'm trying to do and accomplish for me
to not fulfill those dreams. So in order to do that,
I must be fully conscious in this mind, body, and spirit.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I love that her definition of life is self perseverance.
I love that because people are so self absorbed they
don't realize the things that are important that has passing
them by day today, and some people didn't make it
to today and we're still here.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
So and I don't mean that in a like a
narcissistic kind of way when I talk about the preservation.
You know, what I learned about life, I'm able to
pass that on to the next generation so they can
avoid some of the pitfalls that I've had to. Hey,
I'm giving you this in like three bullets. You know,
(06:08):
it's like you can take ten years off your life,
you know, right, you don't want to repeat some of
the things that I did because no one told me
about these things. Now, I understand that, you know, young
people need this younger generation need to experience certain things
for themselves, you know, but there are some things you
really don't want.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To experience exactly. So we want to talk. I want
to talk about life a little bit on that perspective.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
How important is it for the other, for the more
seasoned generation to just say hey, to the younger generation.
I know you might not want to hear what I
have to say, but this is something that will actually
help you along your way to be more mindful of
the things that are around you as for your life
and things like that, because it is necessary. And I
(06:55):
know that we live in a day and a time
where people don't like being told anything absolutely, But how
would you say that, you know the importance of making
sure that you're at least taking one, are grabbing one
and instilling those values, morals and life lessons and to
that person so they can not go through, you know,
(07:15):
the pitfalls.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
As you said, I mean, this is all about what
I do. What Network of Women is all about. It's
about part of network of women. Now We use this
word all the time, and it's actually a product that
we you know, hand this bb it's a sly word.
It means grandmotherhood. These are the things that we pass
(07:38):
down to our children, especially when I and when it
comes to our girls, like you know what's going to
happen when my period comes on? And you know what
happens when I have sex, or have a baby, or
go through menopause. Those are different stages of our lives
that we need to be able to talk to one
(08:00):
another about so we can understand what is really happening.
And I think we are out here alone, you know,
it's like, oh my god, nobody's going through this. But really,
those jewels of wisdom that we pass down to one another,
it really does help. Especially you know this, and when
we like we understand that girls are hitting puberty as
(08:22):
young as six. Now, wow, so what happens if they
don't have anyone in their family or anyone close to
them to share with them about Hey, what to expect
when you're expecting your period. These are the things that
you need to look out for. And you're not dying,
You're okay. This is a natural part of life. So
let's just put things in place so when it does happen,
(08:44):
you're ready. And that's essentially you know, how I interpret
the question is preparing our students are our children for
what's to come, even if they don't want to hear it.
Trust me, when I told you, my mother used to
tell me. So I'm like, but later in life, I
was like, nah, that little voice came back and she's
(09:05):
your mom said that this was gonna happen. So even
if they're not listening, I think they are listening.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I believe so too, because I have a fifteen year
old son and I have a twenty seven year old daughter,
and the things that I told her, we have conversations
about it now and we laugh and then we like say, oh,
he's totally different because he's a boy. He's seeing it,
you know, seeing life from a boy's perspective.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
But just certain things that.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
I taught her, she is now saying, hey, no, you're
gonna get this done the right way because he just
so oblivious to on the goal, trying to be on
the on the game, and he's starting to date and
stuff like that. So it's just funny to sit back
and just watch, like listen to her be me for
a minute, because I'm like, I told her the same words. Okay,
I did something right, That's right.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You think they're not listening, They are listening because eventually
it'll play out in their lives as well. And that's
that's where you know the experience come from. And that's
when you know your child, when you know that they
know that they're on the right track.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Right, absolutely, absolutely, So let's get into talking about the
Network of Women now, Like, what prompted you to start it?
I know you just talked a little bit about it,
but what actually got you say? You know what, I
need to do something to make sure that I am
helping women that look like me.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Mm hmm. Well, you know, it was a long time
in the making. I've had other versions of Network of
Women now, but the most current version is when I was,
you know, helping this other nonprofit organization travel around the
world delivering art supplies and we had gotten a lot
(10:50):
of supplies for Mister Hygiene Products and we delivered our
first project together because he has started the organization before
I came on board, and I just happened to call
him up and say, hey, what are you doing? He
was like, I got this organization. Let's work on it together.
And I said, okay, you know, you know, as long
(11:12):
as I can do some traveling, you know, I'm cool
with it. You know, when we went to Tanzania, we
had to give the feminine hygiene products out like behind
the scenes, and I went to him and I told him,
I said, you know, realistically, as a woman, I can't
abide by us, you know, pushing things behind the scenes
(11:34):
for women. And we talked about it and he was like, okay, cool.
So I said, you know, this is what's going to happen.
You know, I'm start a nonprofit. It's gonna network with
women and we're going to be focusing on women and
women issues. And he was like, okay, cool. And that's
essentially how I started. I incorporated in twenty twenty and
in December of this year, it will be our five
(11:57):
year anniversary.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Congratulation.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
So, what has been one of the challenges that you
faced since you started the organization.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
I think there has been several challenges. Number one is
people finding value in what I do. And the other one,
you know, the the heartbeat of a nonprofit is always,
you know, secure funding. So that is the other thing.
But one of the more major things this is this
(12:30):
is this is you know, I've been thinking about this too.
It's about us as women, and it is important that
we keep our word. Yeah, you know, I just don't
even know any other way to say it. So if
(12:51):
I'm having a meeting with you and I'm talking to
you about what I do, then you turn around and
take the conversation that we had and write a grant
and just completely leave me out. You like integrity?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Oh yes, that is.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
The major problem that I have been finding with some
of the organizations that I have been engaged with for
black women, and I have been just trying to figure out,
you know, what is.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
That all about?
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Figuring out how better to work with one another. So
those three things have been major kind of hur rules here.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
That I have been finding. But yeah, I mean, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And that's so unfortunate because I love what you do.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
It is so necessary and thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Me being a woman who was not taught about certain
things for my mom, my oldest sister showed me a
lot of things because my mom taught it to her.
And so I'm like, what about the people are the
young girls who are growing up and they don't have
a woman in the household. They may have lost their
mother at a young age, or she may have passed
(14:22):
doing childbirth. Like what happens with those little girls who
grow up to become women. How did they learn to
navigate as a woman, you know, learning about different things
like that. So when my best friend told me about
the organization, I writ and watched the commercial and stuff
like that, and I was like, this is amazing. I
need to have her on the show because so many
people need to understand and know that we do have
(14:45):
organizations like yours that exist.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
No, And that is why I phrased what I did
for the last question is because ultimately the mission is
about the girls, not about ourselves.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Right right, absolutely, And that brings me to the next
question is why is empowering women so important to you
when it comes to like personal Hagien.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Mmm, you know that's a pretty loaded question because I'm
pulling on my own life experiences and you know, I
grew up in Mississippi and I didn't know that, you know,
I'm poor, you know, I mean, I had my parents,
(15:29):
my grandparents. I have come from a large family. I
had a whole church community, I had my aunts, and
uncles all around. I mean, I was just so innundated
with family. I mean I had everything that I needed.
So I was a normal kid. You know, I didn't
think anything was exceptional about my life. It's just, you know,
(15:50):
it was what it was. When I was twelve, I
started my period. Okay, normal, you know, you were the boys,
because the boys around the house. And you know, my
mom was like, I don't remember one guy came. We come,
this is the first time.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
What.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
So she was like, on the pill and I was like, yeah, okay, okay, cool.
So my sister and cousin and I went and got
on the pill. Well, you know, we went to get
on the pill. They got their little brown bags full
of pills.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
It was at the local clinic, and you know, when
it came to me, they were like, we found an issue,
so you need to come back with your mother. And
it just kind of like at that point it just
like warp speed into me having surgery and going through therapy,
and it was just this entire ordeal that I was
(16:43):
just mentally not prepared for. Not only myself, my mother
wasn't prepared for it either, right, So it ended up
having you know, to have you know, a surgery for
what the doctors claim. You know, it's like, oh, well
it be for her, I want to have children. But
(17:05):
I felt like there was a lot of experimentation that
went on with my therapy that you know, my mother
nor I could really understand because we didn't have popularity,
we didn't have the language, we didn't have the tools
to really prepare for what was coming, you know, in
(17:28):
the in the next couple of years. Because I was
like under treatment for like two years, and my mother
was financially responsible for getting me to the doctor because
I was living in Macomb, Mississippi, but I had to
(17:49):
go to Jackson for treatment GOTA and once I you know,
so my mother had to take off work, she had
to drive, you know, we were there all day sometimes,
so it was like it was just this major ordeal.
And after initially after the surgeries, you know, I was
going maybe twice a month, but then eventually it went
(18:09):
to once a month. But still that was a financial
hardship on her. And then you know, I couldn't talk
to her about it, but I was still in school.
I was in high school. So yeah, so just navigating
through that and the fact that that experience has been
a part of my journey to lead me to where
(18:30):
I am now, because you know I have I have
an autobiography that is coming out very soon where I
talked about how the women in my family had to
contend with their own journey. So what I do is
(18:55):
a direct reflection of what I've experienced for generations. Yes,
and it's a natural part to talk to young girls
about what is happening because, like I said before, I
didn't even have the vocabulary to be able to articulate
what was actually happening to me. Hm. Because of that.
(19:19):
In my undergraduate part of my undergraduate studies was women's studies.
When I traveled abroad for my summer summer broad Products projects,
I was always looking at how, you know, women were
impacted by different environments around the world. So I've always
(19:39):
included women's studies and situations that happened to women. It's
just that the reproductive part of it is essentially how
we define ourselves as women.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Absolutely, And I was about to mention that you have
a book coming out. How when can we expect the book?
I love the name My Soul's Unrest. I love that name.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Uh, I just got the I had a proof read to.
I just got the word back that it's good to
go today. I just got it back today that it's
really good to go. Okay, so I'll start, you know,
putting promo out promos. I think I want to do it,
you know, around my fifth anniversary. So it's just gonna
(20:34):
be this full circle moment. So it will be out
for sure next month.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
All right, I love it. I love it?
Speaker 2 (20:42):
So are you doing pre orders? With it be available
on all platforms? How can people support? Because I want
I want all my listeners to make sure that y'all
go and support and buy this book.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah, well it's gonna be on Amazon. We are doing
the book and hardcover and back, so be able to
get it on email. You can follow me to because
I'll give updates on my social media, which is Networkingwomen
dow dot dot org, which is my website, or and
(21:16):
all my social media is Networking Women now, Instagram, Pinterests, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram,
all that, so you know, I'll be highlighting it. And
I haven't done anything right now because I just wanted
to make sure that the product that I put out
is a good product. And so in the book, I
(21:37):
talk about, you know, my early beginnings and how that
event change the trajectory of my life, because well, I
don't want to say change the trajectory, because I don't
know if you remember, Ebony had put out these black
(21:57):
encyclopedias and my mother bought the and I used to
always read them and I was just I would put
pins and them and y'auld mark, I'm like, okay. I
would look at the maps. I'm like, I'm going here,
I'm going here, I'm going there, I'm going there, I'm
going there. And I have pins all over the world
and I've pretty much been able to travel to these places.
(22:20):
What I did know that what the message was that
I would be traveling and you know, so now this
is the message. So this is like my second book,
because I have a work book that helps girls to
you know, learn a vocabulary, learn about you know, self
(22:43):
preservation and boundaries and what to expect when they're expecting.
So when I put that book out, I don't think
that people understood the link that it had to me
in my mission. So that's why I followed up with
the autobiography to let people know that, you know, I'm
just not talking because you know, I don't have a
(23:04):
point of reference, and that point of reference is, you know,
my experience. So when I say, you know, my soul's unrest,
it's about not only was I medically sterilized, and that's
what the book is all about me being medically sterilized.
My mother was medically sterilized and her mother before her.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
So that's why three generations of failed reproductive healthcare and
women in Mississippi. So that is in the historical perspective,
because believe it or not, that's why I was saying,
I don't want girls to think that they're alone because
this had been happening for a very long time, especially
(23:47):
for color Yes, and there was an incident in Georgia
which was an entire lawsuit about two sisters, one was
twelve and the other was fourteen, where they were medically
sterilized the under the guys of family planning. They were
black girls, young black girls, and when they look at
the permission slip, the mother had signed her name with
(24:11):
an ex so their mother was not even literal enough
to understand what was happening to her to her daughter.
So you know, for sterilization had been happening for a
long time, but in the south southern part of the
United States, this was a big issue going back as
far as the fifties, and when this happened to me,
(24:33):
this was well into the you know, eighties and nineties, right,
you know, that is why Mike's story. I feel like
people need to understand it. And then when you look
at this whole political climate that's happening right now when
they repealed Roe versus Wade. You know, women's reproductive health
(24:56):
is very political.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Right, yep, very very political, and it's sad it is.
So I try not to talk about politics, but you
can't help but talk about that part because as a woman,
it's gonna affect all of us.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
God are change, We're gonna.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Change gears a little bit. And I want to get
into this work the work book too, because you talked
about a good but I want people to know that
they can get the workbook.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It's out there.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
But I wanna talk about love. How important do you
believe that self love is when it comes to personal hygiene.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Underneath what we do. I mean, really, it's about loving yourself,
having a healthy relationship not only with yourself, but also.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
To be able to.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Have a healthy relationship with your partner, because if things
are not working right with your body, you are not
able to be receptive to love. To lust is hire
two activities to drinking, to eating. You know, it's like,
you know, even bathing. Sometimes you can go into this
(26:08):
depression where you know, you don't know what's happening with
your body, but you don't want to get out of bed,
you don't want to do normal activities. So self love
is you know, about caring for yourself enough to know
that you're worthy of having a healthy lifestyle or having
(26:29):
a healthy body. You know, of being able to invite
love in because you know we talk about you know,
what you put out is what you receive. So if
you're putting out love because you love your body, you
love the way you look. You know, you look at
the mirror and say, I'm a little fly there.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
You know, it's like.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
When you walk into a room, you have all this
confidence and you you attract you know, the love to
you and you're able to go out and conquer the
world when you love yourself, you.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Know, absolutely, I feel like it's enough hate around that.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Don't give into that.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Like if you don't like something about yourself and you're
able to change it, change it. But God puts you
on here on this earth and made you the way
that you were supposed to.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Be for a reason.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know you love you're in Yes, absolutely, And I
feel like a lot of people are superficial when it
comes to love nowadays because social media has made it
so in your face and we don't know what happens
when the camera stopped rolling and it's scripted and all
(27:42):
the things like that. So speak to the listeners who
are so involved in the love stories that are being
portrayed on social media.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Yeah, we really need to be careful about the information
that we put out. And that's one of the things
that I try to be very responsible about. You know,
we have to be able to put out truth, you know,
to our young girls. And you know, I'm not saying
that ever since this incident happened with me, it's been
(28:15):
you know, you know, roses like I'm like that can
be father for the truth. But you know, when we're
in relationships, my mother told me this. She told me,
she said, once you leave my house and go out
in the world, there are going to be things that
(28:36):
you're going to do that only you and God will know,
I had no idea what my mother was talking about
until I started living. Yes, I started interacting with other
people until I was in relationships with men. And not
that they were bad relationships, it was a lot of
(28:58):
it was that I didn't understand and who I was. Yeah,
And so those truths are what I tell my nieces
and even my nephews today about you know, you being
in a relationship with someone who's damaged.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Right, and it's it's it's not impossible, but it can
be a very difficult role when you're trying to love
someone who doesn't love or respect themselves.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
And so social media when you're looking at you know,
because the kids, you know, this is the first generation
that are coming out that it's all digital yeap. So
they have access to a lot of things. But what
they don't understand about these phones is that I'm a
go into a story right now. But it's important that
(29:51):
they understand what's happening. So about six years ago, seven
years ago, Mark Zuckenberg of you know, CEO of Facebook,
he was trying to put out meta But what happened
was when they tried to use the business model to
have those the clickbait for your phone, like what you research.
(30:15):
It was just supposed to be for other businesses to
see and track how many times people click on your
you know, your product or your website. But when he
was trying to merge you know, the business format with
the with the digital AI kind of format, they started
communicating with each other and creating a language, which he
(30:39):
was like, you know in this article already was like, oh,
we shut it down because we didn't understand what was happening.
Then a few years later, under the radar, all of
a sudden, you know, it's supposed to be fixing now
it has now meta is out, So what it is
doing is and you noticed this, but you don't really know.
And this is what the kids do not know. If
(30:59):
you notice, if you talk about something, if you click
on something, all of a sudden, that becomes your over
and over again. So let's just say, you know, and
I'll just take I just use this as an example,
you know, the political situation. If you're gonna whatever political
party you affiliate yourself with, you know, if you click
on nothing but that that's all you get. You don't
(31:21):
get any diversity in the conversation. You don't get other platforms,
you don't get anything like these young kids. If you're
only looking at you know, fights all the time, that's
all you're gonna get, and you're gonna think, oh, this
is all that's out there on the internet, right, And
that's not true. So it's hard for our young kids
(31:41):
to distinguish what is fact and what is fiction, yep.
And if they're not getting it in a home or
there's a representation of what they're seeing in the home
and what they're seeing on the internet, it's hard to
kind of step out from that. And as a fifteen
year old girl that had experienced what I experienced, one
(32:04):
of the questions that I had to come to terms
with and my reality was what value am I to
a society that deems that I am damaged goods if
I can have children. So that is the one question
(32:24):
that I had to ponder throughout my treatments, throughout my
young adulthood, throughout my you know, middle age or whatever
up and ten now. So at a very young age,
I answered that question by saying, I'm gonna create the
life that I want to create. I'm gonna do something
positive with my life, and I'm gonna be happy to
(32:46):
get to that point. And I have been working on
that for a long time. So I have to represent
a model to the kids that you know, you can
create whatever lifestyle you want, but you gotta do it
with integrity. You must be happy while you're doing You
should be happy while you're doing it. You know, not
that it always.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Happens, Absolutely absolutely, And I always ask the question about
social media because each guest gives a different perspective, although
it's almost the same. You have to make sure that
we are feeding ourselves stuff that will keep us grounded,
keep us walking integrity, and not make us feel like
(33:26):
how we live and how we look and the things
that we value is not like outlandish or fore fetched
or whatever, because what.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Does that mean.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
It's like social media has really brainwashed a lot of
people thinking that it's okay to have a toxic relation,
Like like that's what love should be at.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Toxic relationships?
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Are you waking up and putting on a face full
of makeup? Is what most people deem as being beautiful?
Stuff like that, Like normal normalcy is not really that
normal anymore because of what we see on social media.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Well, reality has nothing to do with reality anymore, right, Yeah,
that's the one thing that I get from it. And
you know, and I can say, this is why, you know,
I'm between two worlds where I knew growing up. Yeah,
there were some things that I didn't know because I
was a kid. But I was able to be a kid.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
You know, I could play outside, I can climb trees,
I can play marble my brothers and ride bikes with them.
You know, I was able to do those things. But
now kids are you know, glued to social media and
the and and all these digital platforms. But what about
reading a book?
Speaker 3 (34:55):
Read in this house?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Absolutely, you better read how you apprehend something.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Absolutely, And if all this stuff crashed, a lot of
people are going to be lost, exactly.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
So you know that leads a question. People don't think
that it could happen, but over it was any indication
about what is actually going on right now? You know,
when we shut down with COVID, people find out how
much they really didn't like each other. Oh yeah, in
the same house.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
A lot of people found out they didn't like themselves
because they were able to glamorize and leave the house
and put on that mask. And now you all stuck inside.
So you can't get dressed or where you could have,
but where you're going. But it's like a lot of
people realize that they didn't even like theirself. They didn't
know who they were because they just put on the
mask and went outside. It came out, they took it,
they took it off. But then it's time to go
(35:51):
to bed, and you just give your family what you
want them to see, and you'll become a whole another
person when you leave the house the next day.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
I mean, look at it. You know, the the schools
were raising your kids, were babysitting your kids for better
part of the day. Your work took up another part
of your day, so you had the small window that
you were interacting with your family, and you know, when
the lights go off, you know, hey it's done. Lived
for another day. But COVID, you know the wider implication
(36:21):
of oh yeah, you know, we couldn't. We didn't, we
couldn't travel or go out. But the entire world shut down. Yep,
if you have that much power to shut down the
entire world, what do you think they're gonna shut What
happens when they decided to shut you down? Especially as women, right,
(36:44):
especially as a woman of a black male. M what
if you know, there's a lot of what is but
I mean we've seen from evidence how historically you know, atmatically,
just by the push of a button, our world can
(37:04):
be really different.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
Really different, and not in a good way.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
All right, So we're gonna get last question, and is
we gonna get into this all this other shit and
we done talked about some of it within what we've
been talking about. What is one life lesson where you
were so bogged down into some shit that you learn
and that you instill into other people like nieces of
(37:34):
the women of color, yourself, What is one lesson that
you instill when you were so bogged down in all
your other shit that you take and try to help
somebody else from not being in that part.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You can have your pretty party, but you better come
up out a real quick. It's okay to cry, It's
okay to sit down and put your head and your
your head in your hands and regroup. But once you
come out, come out swinging.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
M Yeah. Because life happens.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
It does not stop for anybody, and you are not
exempt from anything.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Absolutely not. You know, there are many times when I
just broke down and just cried, I called my brother
like by dieces, I'm like okay. They're like wait wait wait, wait,
wait wait wait, what's going on? And they, you know,
when I finally you know, try to you know, make
sense of it. One of the other things is that
(38:37):
you know, we can't be emotionally, emotionally attached to a
lot of things that are happening to us, and we
when we're emotional, we can make some really bad decisions.
So being able to you know, cry about it, fuss
about it, you know, and let it be done. When
you come back, then you kind of calm down, you're
(39:00):
in your right state of mind, you can make a
better decision, because when you're emotional, it can go really
bad real quick. So you just try to talk to
yourself and keep yourself calm and realize that you know
this too. Shell pass you know, my mother and you're
so Ho's like when people minimize your life, you got
(39:22):
to maximize it. So most of the time when we're
in these when we're in these positions, it's because something
external has happened, and you know, we're reactionary, and so
you know, whatever somebody does to you, you tend to
kind of like go off or things don't work well
(39:44):
for you. And you know, just even with Network of Women.
Now you know, I was playing in this major event,
and you know, I put all the work into it
and did everything and I was supposed to do social media, marketing, girl,
did interviews, did all this so and nobody showed up.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
How disappointing is that. Yeah, so you know, I've had
my setbacks. Don't get me wrong, I've had my trials
and tribulations. But I knew I had to come back
out of it. But now look at me. I'm you know,
Networking Women is five years old. I had to move forward.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
I had.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I mean, learning the pivot doesn't take you out of position.
I think it positions you for your purpose. I really
do believe that because not everything is gonna be sunshine
and rainbows. People are not gonna always show up. Some
people are not gonna show up because it's you. But
you have to be okay with it and know that
your people will come. Just keep doing the work, keep
(40:44):
showing up, and keep walking in integrity with humility, and
not everybody has that. That plays a big part in
the things that we are supposed to do. And I
believe that because I'm one of those people that if
I cannot keep my word, I'm gonna try my best
to make it up some type of way. And if
I can't show up and I've given you my word
(41:05):
that I'm showing up, it got to be something that's
just like I cannot avoid not coming.
Speaker 4 (41:12):
Yeah, I mean, if it means that much, you know,
just say something. And I find that. You know, here
when we talk about me doing what I do. You know,
people are so interested in tailgating football and you know,
(41:33):
whatever the food is, the cuisine. You know, everybody wants
to do that. But when it talks when we talk
about our girls, you know, you only want to talk
about them when they're in trouble or you know, oh
she's pregnant or she dropped out of school. But there
were some signs long before then that you never even
(41:55):
wanted to discuss. Right, Our boys are the same way.
You know, there's no curriculum in the schools really that's
talking about you know, masculine hygiene. It's against them, right,
you know, to teach sex education.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
Wow, I did not know that.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
So if you're not talking to girls, and you know,
there are some schools that where like ebr Parish. The
nurses through our Lady of the Lake, they can go
in and talk to the kids about hygiene. But it's
not mandatory. It's kind of an elective. But there's some
(42:42):
school districts there's no one. There might be a teacher
that decides, hey, we need to talk to our girls,
but certainly with the curriculum and the workbook that I have,
they don't have that. And I have gone into the
schools in some schools with my work book and teach
the girls and talk to girls. But you know, this
(43:03):
this subject part of the problem. When we're talking about
issues when it comes to reproductive health, then you know,
the powers that be don't want you to talk about
the LGBQ plus community. They don't want to talk about transgender.
So I'm saying to them, it's like everybody needs a
(43:24):
toothbrush and toothpaste, yeah, the odor on you know, that's
personal hygiene is universal. You need a bar soap.
Speaker 6 (43:34):
Or clean underwear, right, you know you need to bathe
every day?
Speaker 4 (43:40):
Hey, you need and girls when they're on their period
is they need the resources to be able to change
every day because most girls only change their paths maybe
once a day. And that's only because they don't have
enough supplies, right.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Right, So let's talk about the handbook. I know you've
been talking about it. Tell the name where people can
purchase it from before we get on out of here.
Speaker 4 (44:04):
Let them know, Okay. So the name of the workbook
is Empowered Hygiene Workbook, and in this word book is
fifty two pages of interactive puzzles. There's coloring section, there's
a small journal in there, and we talk about, you know,
the importance of hand soap, hand sanitizers. We talk about
(44:29):
how to read the packages, especially for girls. This is
just for girls. How to read the packages on the
sanitary pad, packages like always and all those what the
numbers mean. We talk about all the products that are
out there on the market because those products can you know,
(44:49):
can range in price and affordability. So I'm finding that
just polling the girls, they lean towards one thing more
than another. But but you know, how do they have
access to it? And then we also have a vocabulary
list of words that if there's an issue, like girls
(45:10):
don't understand that if their periods fall outside of the
rangers of three to seven days per mom, there's a problem.
And so we talk to them about that, about those things,
so they would know if there's a problem, then they
consult their parents. Then their parents can take them to
(45:30):
a physician, and then they will have a working vocabulary
to be able to articulate what is actually going on.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
So that's basically what the book is all about. And
now we're beginning to find that this book, that the
book is being translated into different languages.
Speaker 5 (45:49):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
I love it, thank you.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
And it's also on Amazon.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
Yeah, sorry, yes, it is on Amazon. It is the
Empowered Hygiene Workbook created and written by me. It's through
Network with Women Now. So it is on it is
on Amazon. It is not it is not in any
of any other format because it's a workbook and it's
an interactive work because there's puzzles involved. So it is
(46:17):
a hard copy. It's fact but it's a hard copy.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Okay, yup. And guys, all of this information would be
in the show note, so just read the notes and
you can get all the information to purchase the workbook,
how to connect and follow on social media, find out
more details about the upcoming autobiography and the fifth year
of Network of Women Now. So I'm super excited about that.
(46:44):
Thank you for coming to kick it with me today.
It has been a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (46:49):
You know, thank you so much. I mean, I think
the whole vibe here. I mean I'm looking at you
geinst the artwork, which is really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
You know, got to painted that.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Oh is she okay?
Speaker 5 (47:00):
So you know what?
Speaker 4 (47:02):
You know, next year we're gonna we're trying to do
an art exhibit for girls, and we're empowering young girls
to be okay with the skin that they're in. We
want girls to you know, have this sense of femininity
(47:24):
and being a boss and you know, just being adventurous
and being able to create the life that they want
to live through art work, through you know, writing, through singing,
through whatever it is medium that you want to be.
If you're just brainiac, you're brainiac. But you know, everybody
(47:45):
needs to have their own identity, and I think that's
how we have healthy relationships with one another. I don't
want to be you, you don't want to be me,
but I can still see the beauty and everything that
you do.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Absolutely let me know about that. I would love says assist.
I would love to assist.
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Really.
Speaker 4 (48:02):
I certain there's more all coming we're just in the
planning stages right now, but it's gonna be at the
end of next year. That's why I said when I
do twenty twenty five, twenty five is gonna be a really,
really big year for Network of Women now because we're
we're we're focused on making sure that our message is
heard and that somebody said we're not taking any prisoners
(48:28):
because we're just gonna go and we're gonna we're gonna
do the damn thing as they say.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Hey, that's I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
But you guys have been listening to another episode of
Kicking In with Kiki. I am back with a new
episode every Thursday to make sure you tune in on
your favorite podcast streaming platform.
Speaker 5 (48:47):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Did you have any words of encouragement, any last thoughts,
or anything you would like to say to the listeners
before we get off today.
Speaker 4 (48:54):
Djer, I just want everyone to make sure they understand that,
you know, women, girls, we play a very pivotal part
in society and no girl should ever have to ask
the question how valuable am I in this society? Because
you consider me as damaged good and you know, also
(49:15):
consider that the dynamics of the family is really changing now.
And like my brother is a single parent of a
teenage daughter, and I had to work through you know,
this workbook with him to get him to understand, you know,
what he needs to expect with his daughter, what she's
going through. She having cramps, you know, does she always
(49:37):
you know need paths up, Like every time you go
to the store, you better pick her up song, But
she's gonna need them, so you know. I just want
to encourage everyone to uh, to really show their daughters
how special they really are.
Speaker 2 (49:51):
Absolutely absolutely yes. But that being said, until next time,
Purple hugs, thank you for tuning in, and thank.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
You chickened with keep
Speaker 4 (50:09):
The Am a cons
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.